Touch sensor and image display device including the same

ABSTRACT

A touch sensor includes a substrate layer, a plurality of sensing electrodes on the substrate layer, and at least one device hole penetrating through one or more of the sensing electrodes. A functional device of an image display device may overlap the device hole so that an optical interference by the touch sensor may be prevented.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2017-0117546 filed on Sep. 14, 2017 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office (KIPO), the entire disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present invention relates to a touch sensor and an image displaydevice including the same. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to a touch sensor including patterned sensing electrodes, and animage display device including the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

As information technologies are being developed, various demands indisplay devices having thinner dimension, light-weight, high efficiencyin power consumption, etc., are increasing. The display device mayinclude a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display(LCD) device, a plasma display panel (PDP) device, anelectro-luminescent display device, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) display device, etc.

A touch panel or a touch sensor capable of inputting a user's directionby selecting an instruction displayed on a screen with a finger or aninputting tool is also developed. The touch panel or the touch sensormay be combined with the display device so that display and informationinput functions may be implemented in one electronic device.

The touch sensor may include a plurality of sensing electrodes forimplementing a touch sensing. If the touch sensor is disposed toward afront face of the display device, a display image quality may bedegraded by the sensing electrodes. Thus, a high transmittance andtransparency may be required in the touch sensor.

Further, various functional devices (e.g., a camera, a speaker, arecorder, an optical sensor, a lighting device, etc.) may be combinedwith the display device, and desired functions from the functionaldevices may be hindered by the touch sensor.

Thus, development of the touch sensor having improved transmittance andoptical properties while also having high sensitivity is required. Forexample, Korean Patent Publication No. 2014-0092366 discloses an imagedisplay device combined with a touch screen panel including a touchsensor. However, demands of a touch sensor or a touch panel with highresolution and improved optical properties are still increasing.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided atouch sensor having improved transmittance and device compatibility.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided animage display device including a touch sensor having improvedtransmittance and device compatibility.

The above aspects of the present inventive concepts will be achieved byone or more of the following features or constructions:

(1) A touch sensor, comprising: a substrate layer; a plurality ofsensing electrodes on the substrate layer; and at least one device holepenetrating through one or more of the sensing electrodes.

(2) The touch sensor according to the above (1), wherein the device holeis formed in one sensing electrode selected from the sensing electrodes.

(3) The touch sensor according to the above (2), further comprising anauxiliary conductive pattern contacting a surface of the sensingelectrode in which the device hole is formed.

(4) The touch sensor according to the above (3), wherein the sensingelectrodes include first sensing electrodes arranged along a firstdirection and second sensing electrodes arranged along a seconddirection, the first and second directions being perpendicular to eachother on the substrate layer, wherein the auxiliary conductive patternextends in the first direction provided that the auxiliary conductivepattern is formed on the first sensing electrode, and the auxiliaryconductive pattern extends in the second direction provided that theauxiliary conductive pattern is formed on the second sensing electrode.

(5) The touch sensor according to the above (3), wherein the auxiliaryconductive pattern includes a plurality of auxiliary conductive patternsarranged around the device hole.

(6) The touch sensor according to the above (1), wherein the sensingelectrodes include first sensing electrodes arranged along a firstdirection and second sensing electrodes arranged along a seconddirection, the first and second directions being perpendicular to eachother on the substrate layer, wherein intersection regions are definedat areas where the neighboring first sensing electrodes are connected toeach other and the neighboring second sensing electrodes are connectedto each other, and separation regions are defined at areas where theneighboring first sensing electrodes are isolated to each other and theneighboring second sensing electrodes are isolated to each other.

(7) The touch sensor according to the above (6), further comprisingconnecting portions integrally connected to the first sensing electrodesat the intersection regions; and bridge electrodes connecting the secondsensing electrodes at the intersection regions.

(8) The touch sensor according to the above (7), wherein the device holeis formed in one intersection region selected from the intersectionregions, wherein the connecting portion and the bridge electrode areomitted in the intersection region.

(9) The touch sensor according to the above (8), further comprising afirst bridge pattern electrically connecting the first sensingelectrodes around the device hole; and a second bridge patternelectrically connecting the second sensing electrodes around the devicehole.

(10) The touch sensor according to the above (6), wherein the devicehole is formed at one separation region selected from the separationregions.

(11) The touch sensor according to the above (10), further comprising anauxiliary conductive pattern on a surface of the first sensing electrodeor the second sensing electrode around the device hole.

(12) The touch sensor according to the above (1), wherein the devicehole penetrates through at least two sensing electrodes of the sensingelectrodes.

(13) The touch sensor according to the above (12), wherein a dummyregion is defined between the sensing electrodes neighboring each other,and the device hole penetrates through a pair of the sensing electrodesadjacent to the dummy region.

(14) The touch sensor according to the above (1), wherein the devicehole also penetrates through the substrate layer.

(15) The touch sensor according to the above (1), wherein the devicehole corresponds to a functional device of an image display device whichincludes at least one of a camera, a speaker, a recorder, an opticalsensor or a lighting device.

(16) An image display device, comprising a display structure includingat least one functional device selected from a camera, a speaker, arecorder, an optical sensor or a lighting device; and a touch sensoraccording to any one of the above (1) to (15) stacked on the displaystructure.

(17) The image display device according to the above (16), wherein thedevice hole of the touch sensor is aligned to overlap the functionaldevice.

The touch sensor according to exemplary embodiments as described abovemay include at least one device hole penetrating through a sensingelectrode. The device hole may be formed to correspond to a functionaldevice such as a camera, a speaker, an optical sensor, a recorder, alighting device, etc., of an image display device. Thus, a desiredoperation of the functional device may be fully implemented without aninterruption by the touch sensor.

In exemplary embodiments, a bridge pattern and/or an auxiliaryconductive pattern may be formed based on a position of the device hole.Accordingly, a signal transfer blocking or a resistance increase by thedevice hole may be avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic top plane views illustrating a touch sensorin accordance with exemplary embodiments;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a touchsensor in accordance with exemplary embodiments;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a touchsensor in accordance with some exemplary embodiments;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a top plane view and a cross-sectional view,respectively, illustrating a touch sensor in accordance with someexemplary embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a top plane view illustrating a touch sensor in accordancewith some exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 10 is a top plane view illustrating a touch sensor in accordancewith some exemplary embodiments; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image display devicein accordance with exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there isprovided a touch sensor which may comprise a plurality of sensingelectrodes and at least one device hole. An image display deviceincluding the touch sensor and having improved optical and operationalproperties is also provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in theart will appreciate that such embodiments described with reference tothe accompanying drawings are provided to further understand the spiritof the present invention and do not limit subject matters to beprotected as disclosed in the detailed description and appended claims.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic top plane views illustrating a touch sensorin accordance with exemplary embodiments. For example, FIG. 2 includes apartial enlarged view of a region designated as “C1” in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the touch sensor may include a substratelayer 100 (see FIGS. 3 to 6) and sensing electrodes 110 and 130 arrangedon the substrate layer 100.

The substrate layer 100 may include a film-type substrate that may serveas a base layer for forming the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, or anobject or a workpiece on which the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 areformed. In some embodiments, the substrate layer 100 may include adisplay panel on which the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 may bedirectly formed.

For example, the substrate layer 100 may include a substrate or a filmmaterial commonly used in the touch sensor, e.g., glass, polymer and/oran inorganic insulation material. The polymer may include, e.g., cycloolefin polymer (COP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyacrylate(PAR), polyether imide (PEI), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN),polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyallylate (polyallylate), polyimide(PI), cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), polyether sulfone (PES),cellulose triacetate (TAC), polycarbonate (PC), cyclo olefin copolymer(COC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), etc. The inorganic insulationmaterial may include, e.g., silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconoxynitride, a metal oxide, etc.

The sensing electrodes 110 and 130 may include first sensing electrodes110 and second sensing electrodes 130.

The first sensing electrodes 110 may be arranged along a first direction(e.g., an X-axis direction) that may be parallel to a top surface of thesubstrate layer 100. Accordingly, a first sensing electrode rowextending in the first direction may be formed by the first sensingelectrodes 110. Further, a plurality of the first sensing electrode rowsmay be arranged along a second direction.

In some embodiments, the first sensing electrodes 110 neighboring in thefirst direction may be physically and electrically connected by aconnecting portion 115 (see FIG. 7). For example, the connecting portion115 may be integrally formed with the first sensing electrodes 110 atthe same level.

The second sensing electrodes 130 may be arranged along the seconddirection (e.g., a Y-axis direction) that may be parallel to a topsurface of the substrate layer 100. In some embodiments, the secondsensing electrodes 130 may include island-type unit electrodesphysically separated from each other. In this case, the second sensingelectrodes 130 neighboring in the second direction may be electricallyconnected to each other by a bridge electrode 135 (see FIG. 7).

Accordingly, a second sensing electrode column extending in the seconddirection may be formed by a plurality of the second sensing electrodes130. Further, a plurality of the second sensing electrode columns may bearranged along the first direction.

For example, the first and second directions may be perpendicular toeach other and may be parallel to the top surface of the substrate layer100.

In some embodiments, the first sensing electrode 110 and the secondsensing electrode 130 may be patterned to have a boundary or peripheryof a wavy shape. Accordingly, a moire phenomenon which may occur whenthe sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and electrodes or wirings (e.g., adata line, a gate line, etc.) in a display panel disposed under thetouch sensor overlap each other may be avoided or reduced.

In some embodiments, the boundary or periphery of the first sensingelectrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130 may be patterned as asaw-tooth shape, a diamond shape, a polygonal shape, etc.

The sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and/or the bridge electrode 135 mayinclude a metal, an alloy, a metal wire or a transparent conductiveoxide.

For example, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and/or the bridgeelectrode 135 may include silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), aluminum(Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti),tungsten (W), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), vanadium (V), iron (Fe),manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn) or analloy thereof (e.g., silver-palladium-copper (APC)). These may be usedalone or in a combination thereof.

The sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and/or the bridge electrode 135 mayinclude the transparent conductive oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO),indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO),cadmium tin oxide (CTO), etc.

In some embodiments, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and/or thebridge electrode 135 may include a stack structure including thetransparent conductive oxide and the metal. For example, the sensingelectrodes 110 and 130, and/or the bridge electrode 135 may have atriple-layered structure including a transparent conductive oxidelayer-a metal layer-a transparent conductive oxide layer. In this case,a flexible property may be enhanced by the metal layer, and a resistancemay be reduced to increase a signal transfer speed. Further, ananti-corrosion property and a transmittance may be improved by thetransparent conductive oxide layer.

A dummy region D may be defined between the first sensing electrode 110and the second sensing electrode 130. The first sensing electrode 110and the second sensing electrode 130 may be physical and electricallyseparated from each other by the dummy region D. Dummy electrodes (notillustrated) may be formed in the dummy region D. An electrodevisibility in the dummy region D due to deviations of patternarrangement and optical property may be reduced or avoided by the dummyelectrodes.

In exemplary embodiments, the touch sensor may include a device hole 150formed through the sensing electrode. The device hole 150 may penetratethrough the first sensing electrode 110 and/or the second sensingelectrode 130.

The device hole 150 may correspond to a functional device (e.g., such asa camera, a speaker, a recorder, an optical sensor, a lighting device,etc.) included in an image display device. For example, when the touchsensor is employed in the image display device, the device hole 150 maybe aligned to overlap a position where the functional device isdisposed.

For example, the device hole 150 may be formed in a region overlappingthe camera so that a substantially 100% transmittance through the regionmay be obtained to improve a resolution or an image quality of thecamera. Further, an optical and electrical interference by the sensingelectrodes 110 and 130 included in the touch sensor may be substantiallyremoved so that a desired operation of the functional device may beimplemented in the image display device with a high reliability.

The term “device hole” used herein encompasses an opening formed byremoving a conductive layer or defined by selectively not forming theconductive layer.

The device hole may indicate a substantially vacant region and also mayinclude an opening at least partially filled with a transparentinsulation layer.

For example, after the formation of the sensing electrodes 110 and 130,a partial region of the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 may be etched byan additional mask to form the device hole 150.

In an embodiment, after the formation of a conductive layer forming thesensing electrodes 110 and 130, the conductive layer may be etched tosimultaneously form the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and the devicehole 150.

In an embodiment, a circular mask may be used when forming theconductive layer for forming the sensing electrodes 110 and 130. In thiscase, the device hole 150 may be defined by a region at which theconductive layer may not be formed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the device hole 150 may cover anintersection region of the first sensing electrode 110 and the secondsensing electrode 130. In this case, the device hole 150 may be formedthrough four individual sensing electrodes 110 and 130 around theintersection region. For example, the device hole 150 may partiallypenetrate through a pair of the first sensing electrodes 110 neighboringin the first direction and a pair of the second sensing electrodes 130neighboring in the second direction around the intersection region.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a touchsensor in accordance with exemplary embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 3 isa cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I′ of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 isa cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II′ of FIG. 2

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 together with FIG. 2, when the device hole150 is formed at the intersection region, the bridge electrode and theconnecting portion as described above may not be formed at theintersection region or may be removed by the device hole 150. Thus, thefirst sensing electrodes 110 and the second sensing electrodes 130 maybe separated from each other by the device hole 150.

In exemplary embodiments, a first bridge pattern 117 may be formed suchthat the first sensing electrodes 110 separated with respect to thedevice hole 150 may be electrically connected. Further, a second bridgepattern 137 may be formed such that the second sensing electrodes 130separated with respect to the device hole 150 may be electricallyconnected.

In some embodiments, an insulation layer 120 at least partially coveringthe first and second sensing electrodes 110 and 130 may be formed, andthe first and second bridge patterns 117 and 137 may be formed on theinsulation layer 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the second bridge pattern 137 may extend inthe second direction, and may be connected to the second sensingelectrodes 130 neighboring each other through contact holes formed inthe insulation layer 120. The first bridge pattern 117 may extend in thefirst direction, and may be connected to the first sensing electrodes110 neighboring each other through contact holes formed in theinsulation layer 120.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 2, two first bride patterns117 and two second bridge patterns 137 may be disposed around the devicehole 150. The first sensing electrodes 110 and the second sensingelectrodes 130 may be connected by a pair of the first bridge patterns117 and a pair of the second bridge patterns 137, respectively, aroundthe device hole 150 so that uniformity of a current flow and acapacitance formation may be improved and a channel resistance may bedecreased.

The insulation layer 120 may include an inorganic insulation materialsuch as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, etc., or an organic insulationmaterial such as acryl-based resin, a siloxane-based resin, etc. Thebridge patterns 117 and 137 may include a metal and/or a transparentconductive oxide. For example, the bridge patterns 117 and 137 mayinclude a conductive material substantially the same as or similar tothat of the sensing electrodes 110 and 130.

In an embodiment, a passivation layer covering the insulation layer 120,the sensing electrodes 110 and 130, and the bridge patterns 117 and 137may be further formed.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the device hole 150 may penetrate through boththe insulation layer 120 and the sensing electrodes 110 and 130. The topsurface of the substrate layer 100 may be exposed by the device hole150.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a touchsensor in accordance with other exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 5, the insulation layer 120 may partially cover thesensing electrodes 110 and 130. In this case, a device hole 150a mayinclude a stepped portion therein by the insulation layer 120.

Referring to FIG. 6, a device hole 150b may also penetrate a portion ofthe substrate layer 100 under the sensing electrodes 110 and 130. Inthis case, the device hole 150b may serve a through hole penetrating theinsulation layer 120, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 and thesubstrate layer 100.

A portion of the substrate layer 100 overlapping the above-mentionedfunctional device may be removed so that transmittance may be furtherenhanced.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a top plane view and a cross-sectional view,respectively, illustrating a touch sensor in accordance with someexemplary embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional viewtaken along a line of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a device hole 155 may be formed in a singlesensing electrode.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the device hole 155 may be formedin an inside of one first sensing electrode 110. In some embodiments, anauxiliary conductive pattern 140 may be formed on the sensing electrode(e.g., the first sensing electrode 110) in which the device hole 155 isformed.

An area or a volume for a current flow may be decreased in the firstsensing electrode 110 including the device hole 155 therein. In someembodiments, the reduced area or volume may be compensated by theauxiliary conductive pattern 140 so that a channel resistance may bealso reduced. Thus, an excessive increase or deviation of the channelresistance in the sensing electrode including the device hole 155 may beprevented.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the auxiliary conductive pattern 140 maydirectly contact the first sensing electrode 110. In some embodiments,the auxiliary conductive pattern 140 may be formed from a conductivelayer the same as that for the bridge electrode 135 by the same etchingprocess.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a plurality of the auxiliary conductivepatterns 140 may be formed. For example, at least two auxiliaryconductive patterns 140 may be arranged around the device hole 155.

In some embodiments, the sensing electrodes 110 and 130 may include amesh structure or a slit structure therein, and may include a pluralityof electrode lines.

For example, the first sensing electrode 110 may include first electrodelines extending in the first direction therein, and the second sensingelectrode 130 may include second sensing electrode lines extending inthe second direction therein.

The auxiliary conductive pattern 140 may have a bar shape extending in adirection the same as that of the electrode line. For example, if thedevice hole 155 is formed in the first sensing electrode 110, theauxiliary conductive pattern 140 may extend in the first directiontogether with the first electrode line. If the device hole 155 is formedin the second sensing electrode 130, the auxiliary conductive pattern140 may extend in the second direction together with the secondelectrode line.

In some embodiments, the electrode lines included in the sensingelectrodes 110 and 130 may extend in a zigzag shape or a wavy shape. Inthis case, the auxiliary conductive pattern 140 may be patterned as thezigzag shape or the wavy shape substantially the same as that of theelectrode lines.

In some embodiments, the auxiliary conductive pattern 140 may beinclined with respect to a pixel electrode of a display panel on whichthe touch sensor is formed. Accordingly, a moire phenomenon occurringwhen boundaries of conductive patterns overlap to be parallel to eachother may be avoided or reduced.

FIG. 9 is a top plane view illustrating a touch sensor in accordancewith some exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 9, a device hole 160 may be formed through a pluralityof the sensing electrodes 110 and 130. In some embodiments, the devicehole 160 may be formed in the region designated as “C2” in FIG. 1. Inthis case, the device hole 160 may penetrate through four sensingelectrodes 110 and 130 located around the region C2.

For example, the region C2 may correspond to a separation region atwhich the first sensing electrodes 110 and the second sensing electrodes130 neighboring each other may be isolated from each other. If thedevice hole 160 is formed to cover the separation region, the bridgepatterns 117 and 137 illustrated in FIG. 2 may be omitted.

In an embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 7, an auxiliary conductivepattern may be further formed to prevent a resistance increase aroundthe device hole 160. For example, the auxiliary conductive pattern maybe formed on surfaces of the first sensing electrode 110 and/or thesecond sensing electrode 130 around the device hole 160.

FIG. 10 is a top plane view illustrating a touch sensor in accordancewith some exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 10, a device hole 165 may penetrate through the firstsensing electrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130 neighboringeach other with respect to a dummy region D. In this case, a pair of thefirst sensing electrode 110 and the second sensing electrode 130 may bepenetrated together by one device hole 165.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image display devicein accordance with exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 11, the image display device may include a basesubstrate 200, a display structure 210, a touch sensor 220, a polarizingplate 230 and a window 240. A display panel may be defined by the basesubstrate 200 and the display structure 210.

The base substrate 200 may serve as, e.g., a back-plane substrate of theimage display device, and may include glass or a transparent insulationmaterial such as polyimide.

The display structure 210 may include thin film transistors (TFTs)arranged on the base substrate 200, a pixel electrode electricallyconnected to the TFT, and a display layer formed on the pixel electrode.The display layer may include, e.g., a liquid crystal layer or anorganic light emitting layer. The display structure 210 may furtherinclude wirings such as a data line, a power line, a scan line, etc.,which may be electrically connected to the TFTs. Additionally,functional devices such as a camera, a speaker, a recorder, an opticalsensor, a lighting device, etc., may be included in the displaystructure 210.

The touch sensor 220 may be disposed on the display structure 220. Thetouch sensor may include a first device hole 225, and the first devicehole 225 may be aligned to substantially overlap the functional device.

The polarizing plate 230 may be disposed on the touch sensor 220. Insome embodiments, the polarizing plate 230 may also include a seconddevice hole overlapping the functional device.

The first and second device holes 225 and 235 may be aligned to overlapeach other. The first and second device holes 225 and 235 areindividually depicted in FIG. 11, however, may be substantially mergedwith each other.

In some embodiments, the polarizing plate 230 may be stacked on thedisplay structure 210, and then the touch sensor 220 may be stacked onthe polarizing plate 230.

The window 240 may be formed on the polarizing plate 230 or the touchsensor 220, and may serve as a protective film or a protectivesubstrate. The window 240 may include, e.g., a transparent insulationresin such as polyester, polyurethane, polyacrylate, etc.

What is claimed is:
 1. A touch sensor, comprising: a substrate layer; aplurality of sensing electrodes on the substrate layer; and at least onedevice hole penetrating through one or more of the sensing electrodes.2. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the at least onedevice hole is formed in one sensing electrode among the sensingelectrodes.
 3. The touch sensor according to claim 2, further comprisingan auxiliary conductive pattern contacting a surface of the sensingelectrode in which the device hole is formed.
 4. The touch sensoraccording to claim 3, wherein the sensing electrodes include firstsensing electrodes arranged along a first direction and second sensingelectrodes arranged along a second direction, the first and seconddirections being perpendicular to each other on the substrate layer,wherein the auxiliary conductive pattern extends in the first directionprovided that the auxiliary conductive pattern is formed on the firstsensing electrode, and the auxiliary conductive pattern extends in thesecond direction provided that the auxiliary conductive pattern isformed on the second sensing electrode.
 5. The touch sensor according toclaim 3, wherein the auxiliary conductive pattern includes a pluralityof auxiliary conductive patterns arranged around the device hole.
 6. Thetouch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensing electrodesinclude first sensing electrodes arranged along a first direction andsecond sensing electrodes arranged along a second direction, the firstand second directions being perpendicular to each other on the substratelayer; intersection regions are defined at areas where the neighboringfirst sensing electrodes are connected to each other and the neighboringsecond sensing electrodes are connected to each other; and separationregions are defined at areas where the neighboring first sensingelectrodes are isolated to each other and the neighboring second sensingelectrodes are isolated to each other.
 7. The touch sensor according toclaim 6, further comprising : connecting portions integrally connectedto the first sensing electrodes at the intersection regions to connectthe neighboring first sensing electrodes each other; and bridgeelectrodes connecting the second sensing electrodes to each other at theintersection regions.
 8. The touch sensor according to claim 6, whereinthe device hole is formed in one intersection region among theintersection regions.
 9. The touch sensor according to claim 8, furthercomprising: a first bridge pattern electrically connecting the firstsensing electrodes around the device hole; and a second bridge patternelectrically connecting the second sensing electrodes around the devicehole.
 10. The touch sensor according to claim 6, wherein the device holeis formed at one separation region among the separation regions.
 11. Thetouch sensor according to claim 10, further comprising an auxiliaryconductive pattern on a surface of at least one of the first sensingelectrodes or at least one of the second sensing electrodes around thedevice hole.
 12. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein thedevice hole penetrates through at least two sensing electrodes of thesensing electrodes.
 13. The touch sensor according to claim 12, whereina dummy region is defined between the sensing electrodes neighboringeach other; and the device hole penetrates through a pair of the sensingelectrodes adjacent to the dummy region.
 14. The touch sensor accordingto claim 1, wherein the device hole further penetrates through thesubstrate layer.
 15. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein thedevice hole corresponds to a functional device of an image displaydevice which includes at least one of a camera, a speaker, a recorder,an optical sensor or a lighting device.
 16. An image display device,comprising: a display structure including at least one functional deviceselected from the group consisting of a camera, a speaker, a recorder,an optical sensor, and a lighting device; and a touch sensor accordingto claim 1 stacked on the display structure.
 17. The image displaydevice according to claim 16, wherein the device hole of the touchsensor is aligned to overlap the functional device.